Month: July 2024

Talking about the fantasy hockey impacts of Kane, Talbot and Walman, too

ESPN’s Sean Allen and Victoria Matiash discuss the fantasy hockey impact of free agency signings, including some of the Red Wings’ moves…

Patrick Kane, W, Detroit Red Wings: Sticking with the Wings and coming into a season in full health, Kane has a proper offseason to get into a rhythm with Alex DeBrincat again, perhaps boosting the prognosis for both of them. Either way, this is a good spot for Kane to potentially extend his fantasy career in solid fashion. The performance bonuses don’t hurt the hopes. -S.A.

Cam Talbot, G, Detroit Red Wings: The veteran goalie earned a .913 SV% and 2.48 GAA behind a staunch team defense in Los Angeles last year. The Red Wings don’t perform to that same stingy degree. Just ask Alex Lyon and Ville Husso, who remain signed in Detroit. Oh, and the Wings signed Oilers’ castoff Jack Campbell too. -V.M.

A subtraction included:

Jake Walman, D, San Jose Sharks: This move could have some wide-reaching fantasy impact — not because Walman has upside as a No. 3 or 4 fantasy defender (though he does), but because he was the perfect defense partner for Moritz Seider. Since they were paired up partway through 2022-23, Seider played to his potential following a weak start to his sophomore campaign. His Corsi percentage drops by about five percent going from Walman to Ben Chiarot, which might be the plan. Maybe Simon Edvinsson is ready for the top pairing? -S.A.

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To the Wings’ prospects, Pavel Datsyuk’s still the ‘magic man’

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Pavel Datsyuk’s presence has been well-received at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp:

“I was pretty shocked,” Danielson said. “He’s a guy that I watched growing up. To me, he’s kind of a person that is in the same category as Sidney Crosby. He’s someone that you looked up to. It’s kind of like a ‘Holy crap’ moment. ‘That’s Pavel Datsyuk.’ Then I got to meet him and say ‘hi,’ which was pretty cool.”

Better yet, they also are getting to learn from the master.

“We did a couple of things with puck protection,” Danielson, Detroit’s top 2023 draft pick explained. “That was kind of his bread and butter, puck protection and stickhanding. He gave us a couple of little tips on things when you’re protecting the puck down low. How to create time and space for yourself.”

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Video: Pavel Datsyuk speaks at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp

Here’s Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk discussing his role at the Red Wings’ Summer Development Camp:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8x4Mip-hIRY%3Fsi%3DoUWCdOqBJGMT6zaw

‘Two sentences’ on the Red Wings’ signings of Talbot, Gustafsson and Campbell

Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne posted two-sentence commentaries on “every notable [free agent] signing” from yesterday’s opening of the unrestricted free agent marketplace. Here are his takes on three of the Red Wings’ signings:

Cam Talbot: Detroit, 2 x $2.5M: Pretty low risk deal for Detroit, but how it pans out depends on how their D plays. If anything, Talbot’s stint in Ottawa in 2022-23 showed that he can’t do it without stability in front of him, and I think Detroit’s still got some work to do there.

Erik Gustafsson: Detroit, 2 x $2M: Gustafsson is a high-event guy, but also one of the league’s more raw-talented ones. He can make some of the hardest plays, but also makes some easy ones look hard in the process.

Jack Campbell: Detroit, 1 x $775K: He’s got the pedigree, is a great personality, and most of that can be buried in the minors. On the other hand, maybe he finds himself with a fresh start, and you luck into a legitimate league-average NHL goalie.

Continued at astonishing length…

Development camp Day 2 interview Tweets


Of note from the Red Wings’ second day of Summer Development Camp, in Twitter form:

From DetroitRedWings.com’s Carley Johnston…

WXYZ’s Jeanna Trotman…

As well as DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce…

Change of (developmental) plans?

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff believes that the Red Wings’ quiet start to the unrestricted free agent period might mean that GM Steve Yzerman will finally “give the kids a chance” to play more regular roles this upcoming season:

The Red Wings really have taken a hit since the end of the season in terms of depth, especially scoring depth. Gone are David Perron (17 goals), Daniel Sprong (18), Shayne Gostisbehere (10) and Jake Walman (12). That’s 57 goals exiting.

Regression for a team that missed the playoffs by a point last season would appear quite possible. While the Red Wings have patchworked the past couple of years with journeymen veterans, teams like Philadelphia, Buffalo and Ottawa were opting to run out their kids and take some lumps while they were learning.

Will their kids be a step ahead of Detroit’s youngsters on the NHL learning curve because of that?

Who knows what other plans the Red Wings might have cooking right now on the back burner. Yzerman isn’t one for entering the sharing circle when it comes to discussing his plans for his team.

Following the weekend’s NHL draft, he certainly didn’t seem at all concerned about not signing any A-list free agents.

“If we can get somebody at the right number, we’ll do it,” Yzerman said at the time. “If not, we’ll wait. We’re confident we’ll fill our roster out one way or another.”

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